Music video analysis

By Anastasia Molot

I will be analysing a music video by Marilyn Manson - No Reflection from the new album Born Villain .

"No Reflection"

Crushing, cheating, changing.Am I deaf or dead?Is this constricting constructionOr just streets with rusty signsOf something violent coming?

This'll hurt you worse than me.I'm weak, seven days a week.Don't run from me. I won'tBother counting one, two, three...

[CHORUS] I don't know which me that I love.Got no reflection.I don't know which me that I love.Got no reflection.

Show myself how to make a nooseA gun's cliche, and a razor tooI'm not a deathshare vacation, vacant stationMade of scars and filled with my old wounds

This'll hurt you worse than me.I'm weak, seven days a week.Don't run from me. I won'tBother counting one, two, three...

[CHORUS]

You don't even want to know what I'm gonna do to you. *4 times

[CHORUS]

No Reflection.No Reflection.

I've got no reflection.

The story

In the beginning of the video we can see some liquid running down the walls, it looks like outside there is some sort of a natural disaster. MM is sitting next to his "wife", there few girls around. They are eating, drinking some weird looking liquid. He starts reading what appears to be a "Living Bible" The girls go crazy, some paranormal things start happening, like a table flying. Girls start throwing up and die. He tries to save his "wife" but nothing works, she dies. The next moment he is gone, leaving all the dead people on the floor. His escape is physically not possible because the doors have barriers and things on them.

Camera

* Many close ups used* Shots with foreground, to create an atmosphere* In - Out of focus shots* Low angle shots - showing that in this video he is a more important character than the girls.* Hand held most of the time

Example of a shot with foreground, showing his relation to the girl? Even though his " wife" character is standing next to MM.

Very typical for MM close up shot, appears in most of his music videos (close ups of his facial expressions)

Lighting

* The lighting in a room with all the main characters is very dark, it looks like no artificial lighting was used. * Close-ups of MM - definitely an artificial lighting was used, bright tungsten light

Editing

* Fast pace editing, shots are changed hitting the beats of the song* Very dark colour scheme which has an unnatural look sometimes.*

Mise-en-scene

* There is a contrast between the costumes of the characters - MM is wearing all black, many rings, make up, which is very conventional for him and rock genre in general, but the women are wearing white dresses. * MM`s tattoos - conventional attribute

Theories

Andrew Goodwin* We can see most of the key aspects he outlined in this music video, such as "seeing the sound", "narrative and performance", "the star image" however, no relation of viduals to the song, disjuncture. This music video works to promote a song.

Theories

Michael ShoreAccording to Michael Shore`s theory I would classify this music video as:*Simulated experience* Decadence* Anesthetization of violence through chic* Adolescent male fantasies *Album art comes to turgid life

Theories

According to Sven E Carlsson I would classify this video as a "commercial exhibitionist" one, it is made to promote the image of MM, and just to promote the song.

My Interpretation

MM is contradicting the church and the Bible. Very interesting that women are wearing white and they die, and MM doesn`t, they are represented as angelic creatures. I think this refers to his idea of believing in yourself, individuality and personality instead of conformity and following what you are been told.